Many electronic products, including such power products as DC-DC Converters, Off-Line Converters, Power Supplies and Magnetically Isolated Gate Drives, include semiconductor devices, passive components and magnetic components in their circuitry. These and other similar products are typically large and built on printed circuit boards (PCBs). PCBs can easily accommodate large power devices and magnetic components. Miniaturization and integration of the semiconductor devices is an on-going trend in the industry, but the size and mechanical complexity of magnetic components (transformers and inductors) have limited the full integration of devices containing such magnetic components into standard semiconductor packages.
It is advantageous to reduce the component size and complexity in such products so that they can be integrated into standard semiconductor packages. Such packages are smaller, providing higher circuit density and improved power performance. Furthermore, such standard packages are typically tooled and automated at off-shore contract assemblers, which allows for lower manufacturing costs and little to no assembly equipment and tooling non-recurring expenses.
Thus, there is a need for simple and cost effective techniques for integrating magnetic components with active and/or passive components in a semiconductor package.